Ruination & Despair » New Archelaus cards http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog Archelaus takes a relentlessly upbeat look at operating a small greeting card business in Washington, DC. Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:41:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 A little bird told me http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/04/26/a-little-bird-told-me/ http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/04/26/a-little-bird-told-me/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:24:31 +0000 Cadwalader Crabtree http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=1260 A little bird told me it was your birthday.

Our latest peculiar birthday offering, “A little bird told me,” exploits the timeless, enigmatic appeal of the moa (albeit in a thoroughly bizarre, surreal manner), even as it mocks the sentimental approach of conventional greeting cards.

Go ahead, just click to find out what’s inside the card!

The fine photo is taken from Richard Owen’s classic, Memoirs on the extinct wingless birds of New Zealand (London, 1879).

]]> http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/04/26/a-little-bird-told-me/feed/ 0 Archelaus breaks its silence http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/02/27/archelaus-breaks-its-silence/ http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/02/27/archelaus-breaks-its-silence/#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:22:36 +0000 Cadwalader Crabtree http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=1208 A baby is an inestimable blessing and bother. - Mark Twain.

Okay, so lately we’ve been been neglecting this blog for awhile. Some of us here at Archelaus have been a bit preoccupied with other weighty matters (never you mind what they were!).

Fortunately, the imperative of designing new cards has shocked us back to reality, and we will attempt to resume posting more reliably.

Or at least that’s how I see it working in theory.

]]> http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/02/27/archelaus-breaks-its-silence/feed/ 2 Two more blanks http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/01/15/two-more-blanks/ http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/01/15/two-more-blanks/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:58:56 +0000 Cadwalader Crabtree http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=1188 Behold, another two exciting blank notecards for your pleasure and delight! Happy New Year from Archelaus!

It is the function of vice to keep virtue within reasonable bounds. - Samuel Butler (1835-1902) For there is no friend like a sister / In calm or stormy weather. - Christina Rossetti (1830-94)
]]> http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2010/01/15/two-more-blanks/feed/ 0 A blizzard of blanks! http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/12/28/a-blizzard-of-blanks/ http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/12/28/a-blizzard-of-blanks/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:10:56 +0000 Cadwalader Crabtree http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=1179 Hey kids, be the first one on your block to get these new blank notecards from Archelaus!

I advise you to go on living solely to enrage those who are paying your annuities. - Voltaire A calm despair is the essence of wisdom. - Alfred de Vigny (1797-1863)
Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures. - Dr. Samuel Johnson Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age. - Victor Hugo (1802-85)
No one is entirely useless. Even the worst of us can serve as horrible examples. - Anonymous prisoner in a Utah state correctional facility. Illustration by Richard huber, after a grotesque on the National Cathedral, Washington, DC. Give me the luxuries of life, and I will willingly do without the necessities. (Reportedly one of Frank Lloyd Wright's favorite sayings.)
Where is human nature so weak as in a bookstore? - Henry Ward Beecher (1813-87)
]]> http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/12/28/a-blizzard-of-blanks/feed/ 0 Nothing says “romance” quite like an Archelaus card! http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/11/27/nothing-says-romance-quite-like-an-archelaus-card/ http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/11/27/nothing-says-romance-quite-like-an-archelaus-card/#comments Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:35:14 +0000 Cadwalader Crabtree http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=1126 How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love you for your taste in carrion.

Next Valentine’s Day, or any other time you want to assure that special someone of the depth of your regard, why not give our latest checkbox card, “Taste in carrion”?

Okay, so it features vultures. These noble birds perform a valuable ecological service, and deserve a better reputation. Besides, who is to say that such sadly misunderstood scavengers do not lead impressively vibrant romantic and sexual lives?

At any rate, they appear to have better luck in that department than card designers do.

]]> http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/11/27/nothing-says-romance-quite-like-an-archelaus-card/feed/ 0 Archelaus launches an entirely new line of cards! http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/09/27/archelaus-launches-an-entirely-new-line-of-cards/ http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/09/27/archelaus-launches-an-entirely-new-line-of-cards/#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:34:24 +0000 Cadwalader Crabtree http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/?p=1036 Not content to rest on our laurels (such as they are), we are pushing ahead with something new and exciting, namely party invitations! Sure, you can always use some boring online service to issue your invitations electronically, but if you really want to get people fired up to attend your so-called event — be it a vegetarian orgy, a cornhusking, or a public hanging — wouldn’t you do better to send Archelaus invitations? Of course you would!

]]> http://www.archelaus-cards.com/blog/2009/09/27/archelaus-launches-an-entirely-new-line-of-cards/feed/ 0